1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to nets used for recreational fishing, and more specifically, to a fishing net configured for use when ice fishing to retrieve fish from a hole that has been bored through a layer of ice that has formed on a lake or other body of water.
2. Background of the Invention
Ice fishing is becoming more and more popular among avid fisherman in the United States and Canada where the climate permits such activity during the winter months. Ice fishing has become a popular leisure activity for many men and women, commonly collectively referred to as anglers, who enjoy fishing during the warmer months and desire to fish when the weather turns cold and lakes and reservoirs freeze. Such fishing conditions, however, present their own unique problems and challenges.
A typical setup for an ice fishing angler includes a fishing pole to which a reel containing fishing line is attached. The line is fed through several eyelets attached to the length of the pole at spaced intervals. To the free end of the line, an angler will attach a lure or a hook and attach bait to the hook. In order to access the depths of a frozen pond or lake and thus to get the lure or bait to the fish, the angler must drill or have drilled a hole through the layer of ice. The hole must be of sufficient diameter to not only enter the bait or lure into the water but to retrieve any fish that may be caught. As such, typical hole diameters are 6, 8 or 10 inches. Once the hole is drilled through the ice, the angler can lower the bait or lure through the hole and into the water.
Once a fish is caught, the fish must be retrieved through the hole. Such a feat is often difficult as it is usually necessary to maintain proper tension on the line so that it does not exceed the breaking strength of the line or allow slack in the line which may allow the fish to free itself from the hook (especially when barbless hooks are used). In addition, once the fish leaves the water, the weight of the fish alone may exceed the breaking strength of the line. As such, anglers typically employ a retrieving device, such as a hand held net, to help retrieve the fish once it has been brought to within reaching distance of the angler. With respect to ice fishing, such nets must be configured to fit within the ice fishing hole. The hole itself is typically a cylindrically shaped bore extending one or more feet through the ice, depending on the thickness of the ice. As such, typical fishing nets which have sizes larger than the ice fishing hole are not useful as their size prevents them from being inserted into the hole. Furthermore, smaller nets that may be insertable into the ice fishing hole are not configured to fill the entire diameter of the hole to prevent a fish from falling between the wall of the ice fishing hole and the frame of the fishing net.
When ice fishing, an angler typically employs the use of a gas powered auger which is capable of boring a hole into the ice. As such, the hole will have a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the auger used. As discussed, such augers come standard in sizes ranging from about six inches in diameter to ten inches in diameter. Because the fishing hole often has a standard diameter and most anglers utilize a single auger having a particular size, it is possible to configure an ice fishing net for fitting within a particular diameter ice hole. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,872, an apparatus for retrieving fish caught while ice fishing is disclosed in which a support member is mounted to a base member that is supported by the upper surface of an ice layer. The support member is extended and retracted through the ice hole and is operative to support a fish during such motion. An extension and retrieval mechanism, such as a slide rod interconnecting the base and support member whereby a fish caught on a fishing line may be maneuvered to the ice hole, and onto the support member and supported during upward movement through the ice hole. The support member may be pivoted out of alignment with the ice hole so as not to obstruct the lower opening thereto, and biased against the ice layer lower opening thereto, and biased against the ice layer lower surface in a ready position. An adjustable limit stop accommodates ice layers of varied thicknesses. The base member is preferably a circular collar, and the support member a pan element with drain holes. A major problem with the foregoing apparatus for retrieving fish while ice fishing is that the pan must be inserted below the ice layer and thus must include a sufficiently long handle to extend a required amount into the ice hole. Furthermore, the device can only be used in one hole as the device is mounted to the ice layer. Additionally, when used in lakes where the depth of the ice may be several feet, the size of the device may become cumbersome to maneuver and operate. Moreover, the ability of the fisherman to both hold tension in the fishing line while retrieving the fish and to maneuver the device is likely to be quite difficult.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,940 in which a stationary tube is attached along a side of the hole in the ice supports a rod having a handle at its upper end and a horizontal gate plate at its lower end. The rod is pivotable by the handle so as to swing the gate into a closed position at the bottom end of the hole, and the plate is then movable upwardly so to bring the fish to the top end of the hole in the ice. As with the aforementioned patent, the device of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,940 patent requires the device to be secured to the ice hole and extend to the bottom of the layer of ice.
Several other ice nets and ice skimmers have been developed that do not require the device to be lowered below the layer of ice. In the alternative, devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,289,850, 3,856,787 and 5,140,767 teach the use of a plate or scoop that can be actuated to a closed position once the device is lowered into the ice hole. U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,850 discloses an ice skimmer in which the skimmer is pivotally connect to a handle. Because it is often desirable to remove ice that forms in the ice hole, ice skimmers are used to keep the ice hole clear for easier fish removal. The skimmer shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,850 is lowered into the ice hole with the skimmer lying against the handle. Once the skimmer is lowered and the handle is pulled upwardly out of the ice hole, it is intended that the skimmer will open to fill the hole to remove ice in the ice hole.
A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,787 in which an ice skimmer includes a mechanically actuated skimmer. The skimmer of U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,787 employs the use of an handle which can be actuated to manipulate the skimmer. Thus, once lowered into the ice hole in a vertical position, the skimmer can be rotated to a horizontal position and then lifted to remove the ice from the ice hole.
The ice net of U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,767 operates similarly to the skimmer of U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,787 in that an actuatable handle is utilized to close the ice net once a fish is positioned above a scoop in the ice hole. In the open position (i.e., when the scoop is in a vertical position), the scoop will necessary obstruct a substantial portion of the ice hole. That is, for a scoop having a diameter close to the diameter of the ice hole, the scoop will necessarily be positioned away from the side wall of the ice hole thus reducing the effective diameter of the hole as the ice net is lowered pass the fish. As the fish is typically moving to try to free itself, the lower end of the ice scoop can actually impinge upon the fish at the point of the hook and dislodge the hook from the fish thus freeing the fish.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an ice fishing net that does not have to be inserted into an ice hole completely through the layer of ice to be operable. It would also be advantageous to provide an ice fishing net that provides little obstruction in the ice hole when inserted therein so that the net can pass by a fish in an ice hole held on a line by an angler without dislodging the fish from the line. It would still be a further advantage to provide an ice fishing net that is operable with one hand so that the angler can hold a fishing pole with one hand and maneuver and operate the fishing net with the other hand. These and other advantages will become apparent from a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiments of an ice fishing net in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that is capable of retrieving a fish from a hole that has been formed in the ice by an angler when ice fishing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that does not substantially obstruct the ice hole when used by an angler to retrieve a fish from the ice hole when ice fishing.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that can be operated with one hand by an angler to retrieve a fish from the ice hole when ice fishing.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that simple to operate and relatively lightweight.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that is self actuating.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ice fishing net that is self supporting in a standing position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ice fishing net that can service multiple holes.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an ice fishing net that can enter the hole while the fish is in the hole, bypass the fish and prevent the fish from exiting the bottom of the hole.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ice fishing net that does not require the angler to put his or her hands in the water.
In accordance with these and other objects herein discussed, as well as those that will be understood to one of skill in the art upon review of the present invention, an ice fishing net in accordance with the principles of the present invention comprises an elongate handle having a distal end and a proximal end and a net assembly connected to the handle proximate the distal end. The net assembly has a first rim portion fixedly mounted relative to the handle, a second rim portion pivotally mounted relative to the first rim portion, and a net supported by the first and second rim portions. The second rim portion is biased to rotate from a first position to a second position. A trigger assembly is connected to the handle and linked to the second rim portion for holding the first rim portion in the first position and for selectively releasing the first rim portion to allow it to rotate from the first position to the second position.
The handle preferably comprises an elongate tube. The trigger assembly preferably comprises a release lever coupled to an elongate rod within the elongate tube. The rod has a proximal end coupled to the release lever for rotation of the rod and a distal end having a release arm for grasping the second rim portion when the second rim portion is in the first position.
In another preferred embodiment, the elongate handle is comprised of a tube and has a first portion having a first longitudinal axis and a second portion having a second longitudinal axis. The first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis have an angle between them such that a bend is formed in the handle for easier single handed use by an angler.
The trigger assembly preferably includes a biasing member coupled to a slidable member within the handle for biasing the slidable member toward the proximal end of the handle. A release pin is inserted through a hole in the handle and is capable of holding the slidable member away from the proximal end of the handle. Releasing the pin, releases the slidable member to allow the slidable member to slide toward the proximal end of the handle as it is pulled by the biasing member. A cable, wire or other such member is coupled between the second rim portion and the slidable member so that movement of the slidable member toward the proximal end of the handle rotates the second rim portion to the second position.
The first rim portion and the second rim portion preferably have semicircular configurations with similar radii. The radii are less than a radius of an ice hole in which the ice fishing net is to be used while substantially encircling the an ice hole when the second rim portion is in the second position. Such a configuration substantially fills the ice hole to prevent a fish from escaping between the net and the ice hole while not interfering with operation of the ice fishing net.
The ice fishing net also preferably includes a rim retaining member depending from the second rim portion positioned for engagement with the release arm when the second rim member is in the first position.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the ice fishing net includes an abutment member fixedly secured relative to the first rim member to prevent over rotation of the second rim member when the second rim member swings from the first position to the second position.
In still another preferred embodiment, the fishing net including a rim engaging member for holding the second rim member in the second position so that the second rim portion does not sag from the weight of a captured fish.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the fishing net includes a spring coupled to the second rim member for forcing the second rim member from the first position to the second position.
In another preferred embodiment, the fishing net includes a first frame member and a second frame member each fixedly mounted relative to the first rim portion. The second rim portion is pivotally mounted to and between the first frame member and the second frame member. A leg member depends from the second rim member so that when the second rim member is in the first position, the leg member and the first and second frame members are capable of supporting the handle in a standing position.